A thrilling read. When Will and Sarah arrive at the Mcalpine Lodge set in an idyllic location it was a surprise honeymoon booked by Will but even before they could begin to enjoy it things took a sinister turn when they discover Mercey Mcalpine dying after a gruesome attack. The whole family are suspects and there are so many twists as they all have secrets and problems its not going to be easy to find the culprit.A real page Turner a bit gruesome at times but plenty of drama that will have you gripped from the beginning and a really heartbreaking ending.A 5 ⭐read

I really enjoyed this book - the characters were interesting and complex and I really didn’t know where it was going at times, who did it etc

It is a very descriptive book that makes you feel like you’re getting all the information as the detectives do - it is very wordy and technical but I don’t mind that.

It’s quite a slow book but one you can really sink your teeth into, it does pick up in the last 20% but I don’t think that’s uncommon with these kinds of books.

Another great book in the Will Trent series, This is why we lied has all the ingredients to be the perfect locked-room murder mystery. This series just keeps getting better. I was so glad to meet Will and Sarsa again and to catch up with what was happening in their lives. I love the couple and I was so glad to read of the developments...

And, most importantly, the thriller part of the book was absolutely stunning. A very shady family, unlikeable characters everywhere, and a victim nobody seems to care about. The story not only drew me in intellectually but also emotionally, I really could not understand why everyone was so cruel to Mercy! The investigation, the relationships, and the secrets were all masterfully plotted and they all came together in a crescendo of tension until the explosive ending.

Definitely a book (and a series) I will be recommending.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollin for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This is a hard hitting storylinewith so many layers, so many secrets. I love Sara and Will and they add a dimension of love and light in sharp contrast to everything else that is going on. The story is so cleverly constructed that everytime you think you're on top of things evrything changes. A compelling dark drama that keeps you guessing to the bitter, heartbreaking end.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my early copy of This is Why We Lied.

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘This Is Why We Lied’ written by Karin Slaughter in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Special Agent Will Trent and Medical Examiner Sara Linton have finally married and are spending their honeymoon at the remote McAlpine Family Lodge. As they’re taking a walk late at night they hear a scream, then a woman calling out for help. Despite being on their honeymoon, Will takes over the investigation and calls for help from his partner Special Agent Faith Mitchell.

‘This Is Why We Lied’ is another brilliant thriller in the Will Trent and Sara Linton series and is just as intriguing as those previously. It’s one of the longest novels I’ve read by this author but I’ve been so gripped that it’s taken over my life for the last few days with its tense and dramatic plot, with so much going on and so many suspects that it’s been difficult to work out who’s responsible. This is an excellent thriller with a plethora of twists and turns and a conclusion that’s answered all my questions whilst tying up the loose ends. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

When GBI Investigator Will Trent and his new wife Medical Examiner Sara Linton arrive at McAlpine Lodge for their honeymoon they are looking forward to some time alone. The secluded lodge is the perfect place to relax and unwind. Until Mercy McAlpine, the manager of the lodge, is killed.
A torrential storm has effectively cut off the lodge, so Will and Sara immediately move into work mode. But Mercy had many people who wanted her dead and the problem will be finding the killer before they strike again.
This tense story is full of suspense with more twists and turns than the trails around the lodge but the final reveal shocked me to the core.

Karin slaughter books never disappoint. I was hooked from the start and couldn’t put it down!!! The twists were amazing and I was constantly guessing until the end.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!!

Sara and Will ( who we have met previously)have just got married and go on Honeymoon to a mountain retreat.They lie about their occupations to avoid questioning from other guests.Wishing to remain off grid they go down to the lake on the property and shortly after hear screams and cries for help. Will finds a girl Mercy dying of stab wounds and tries to revive her but it is too late. Her last words to Will are for her son Jon.to say she forgave him and to get away from the Hotel.
It turns out she had been controlled by her parents after being in a fatal crash in which her best friend Gabbie died , and then married an abusive husband (Dave) who she kept returning to too many times. Jon was being looked after by Bitty , Mercy's mother who was also abusive to Mercy. Suspicion is on Dave but other guests and family members come under suspicion after Dave is found to have an alibi.
It turns out Will and Dave were brought up in a children's home together and he had always been a bully to the other kids.
after many twists in the plot the perpetrator is discovered. Can Will and Sara's relationship continue as he seems to be married to his police job?
A well written story.

Karin Slaughter has done it again!! What a thrilling read. Will and sara have gone on honeymoon but it doesn't go as planned. In a remote, luxurious camp run by the mcalpine family, mercy mcalpine is murdered. Both guests and the family have secrets, lies they've told, some much much worse than others. Will is determined to catch the killer, and when he finally does, it will shock you!!
Would absolutely recommend this book.
Thanks to netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This Is Why We Lied is a long read like all of this authors books are but kept me interested al, the way through.
This is book 12 in the Will Trent series. Will has finally married Sara. Will has decided to surprise Sara with the honeymoon, Sara’s sister has even packed her bag for her so she truly has no idea where she is going. Will has booked an outdoors type holiday, it’s set in secluded mountains and they have to hike to get there. McAlpine Lodge is supposed to get them both to relax with some outdoors activities but with luxury accommodation. Unfortunately it looks like they won’t be chilling just yet as the woman who runs the Lodge, Mercy is mirdered and both Will and Sara can’t leave it to the local police who don’t know what they are doing and are also going to be biased on who submit. So in they step with help from Amanda and Faith who we know from previous books to get to the bottom of who is the suspect.
This was a good read that I enjoyed, I love Will and Sara as characters, the book was very long and I did knock a point off or that as I could have been a little tighter but it doesn’t put me off reading the next instalment which no doubt there will be!
I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

One of the best thrillers I've read this year!

Set on a luxury campsite in the forest surrounded by trees, trails, and lakes, the setting was perfect for this story!
From the beginning, the reader finds out about the crime before the story comes full circle to reveal the events that lead up to it and the investigation that follows.

Now, I'm usually pretty good at sussing out how these books are going to go down, but not in this case. The author has a special ability to make every single character look guilty, and for suspicion to fall on everyone at certain parts of this book. I honestly didn't see the end coming (not all of it anyway!)

With twists and turns aplenty, this book has everything you could want from a 'locked room whodunit and I'm very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Even though I've read other books by this author, until this one, I'd not read any of this series. However, this will certainly not stay the case!
This is the twelfth installment featuring Will Trent from the GBI (Georgia bureau of investigations) but can also be read as a stand alone.

This Is Why We Lied is a compelling story. That features a locked-room mystery and the honeymoon of GBI Agent Will Trent and Dr. Sara Linton.

Who have arrived at a secluded cabin retreat for a relaxing and quiet honeymoon.

But soon find out it's anything but.

As Mercy McAlpine has been murdered, and the list of those who want to put a knife in her back is endless.

Yet, Will, who found Mercy just minutes before she died, is determined to get answers and pass on a final message to her sixteen-year-old son Jon.

But the ability to get answers in a family where secrets are prevalent is easier said than done. As very few truly care about Mercy's brutal murder or that she was subjected to years of abuse by her ex-husband Dave. Who has an interesting history with Will.

And the story unfolds brilliantly. Revealing past memories and horrific secrets. That out some truly despicable characters and a killer I was not expecting and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Plus, with the added familiar faces, this story had everything I needed, and I would happily recommend it to all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all of the Karin Slaughter books, I read them for the shock value and because they make me feel incredibly uncomfortable, but the good guys usually win in the end. They're a journey and one I love to hate.

That said, this for me was a 3.5-4 star read. It just didn't quite measure up to others in the series.

I felt that the character of Christopher was autistic coded and it played into several problematic stereotypes. It could just be my interpretation of course, but the emotionless, non eye contact, hyper organised to OCD levels as well as incel tendencies were all there. These are harmful and untrue.

Will I wait with baited breath for her next novel, yes! Will I remember this as the greatest story ever written, no!

This dark, complex story kept me hooked from beginning to end. Well developed characters, unpredictable twists and turns, and a remote mountain retreat that added to the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere. Karin Slaughter is such a talented crime writer. Brilliant!

I mean, what do I say here? Karin Slaughter just knows what she’s doing. Always an amazing time with her books and this was no different! I loved it and thank you for letting me read it!

I love author Karin Slaughter, but being honest I haven't kept up with all these novels so I read This is Why We Lied as a sort of standalone novel and it made sense.

Main characters Will and Sara are newly married and for their honeymoon they are off to the lovely yet remote McAlpine Lodge. Run by the McAlpine family who learn are not exactly close knit and the parents of Mercy are planning to sell the lodges and Mercy is not happy.

There are other couples on the week long trip and we are thrust immediately in to a dead body being found - that of Mercy McAlpine and Will and Sara are on the hunt for how it happened.

This is a fast-paced novel with a fair few different characters and I really enjoyed it.

The characters are exactly how I remembered and it has left me feeling like I need to go and read the novels that I missed.

Excellent writing by author Karin Slaughter which many people will enjoy.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for letting me have an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is Why I Lied Karin Slaughter

5 stars

This is one of many books involving Will Trent, a Georgia FBI agent and Sara Linton a Medical Examiner. I have read 5 of these books and have seen how their relationship has grown and at the beginning of this book they have finally got married and are honeymooning at the idyllic McAlpine Family Lodge.

On the very first night of their honeymoon, one of the owners of the lodge, Mercy McAlpine is found murdered in a particularly vicious way. Her whole family are totally dysfunctional, her parents, her brother, her ex-husband, her son all of whom could be guilty of her murder for various reasons but there are also 6 other guests with motives.

Will cannot help but become involved and as the story unravels it reveals what an awful life Mercy has lived and how anyone of her family or the guests could have been responsible for her murder. Ms Slaughter is always a great read if you are not put off by graphic descriptions of violence both physically, sexually and mentally. I really enjoyed this book, the characters, although unpleasant are brilliantly described and the ending was shocking.

I just hope that Will and Sara get to enjoy a second honeymoon with less drama in the next book but, somehow I don’t think that will happen!

Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

When honeymooners Will and Sara arrive at their honeymoon destination, a remote and rural lodge in the mountains, it seems idyllic. However, it soon becomes clear that the family-run place is a business in conflict as the McAlpine family struggle through historical and new conflicts. When a body is found, the finger of blame can be pointed in multiple directions. But who had the most motive for the cruel and vicious death of owner Mercy and why?

This was an interesting narrative with lots of flits between chronology and perspective of different characters. The backstop of the McAlpine family is complicated but this added to the confusion of who could have committed the murder - family or guests.

A little slow in places but overall a real page turner.

Thanks to the author, Harper Vollins and @Netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

Only read one other book by this author, so gave this one a go. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. However, I'm afraid I didn't love it. It was fine. I did like Will as a character and his new wife, but I felt the overall plot was far too long and complicated for what turned out to be a simple ending. Did I guess it? No, but looking back now it was obvious. I didn't like any of the other characters either. I found myself skipping big paragraphs because there was too many descriptions and not enough action moving the plot forwards. However, this is my personal feelings of the book and I can see many lovers of the author racing through it.

This is the second Will Trent and Sara Linton book I have read and preferred this one to the previous book. Karin Slaughter is a Sunday Times bestselling author and as such will gain many readers of this genre. I found the twists and turns in this book slightly confusing at times and as with the previous book I think it could have been edited down a little. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.